Symobi
Encyclopedia
Symobi is a modern and mobile real-time operating system
. It was and is developed by the German company Miray Software, since 2002 partly in cooperation with the research team of Prof. Dr. Uwe Baumgarten at the Technical University of Munich
. The graphical operating system
is designed for the area of embedded
and mobile systems. It is also often used on PCs for end users and in the field of industry.
Sphere. µnOS offers communication through message passing
between all processes (from basic operating system service processes to application processes) using the integrated process manager. On the lowest level, the responsibility of the Sphere microkernel is to implement and enforce security mechanisms and resource management in real-time. Symobi itself additionally offers a complete graphical operating system environment with system services, a consistent graphical user interface
, as well as standard programs and drivers
.
, and dynamic libraries, like Windows, Linux, and Unix for example. In the area of mobile embedded operating systems, through its low resource requirement and the support of mobile devices it resembles systems like Windows CE, SymbianOS or Palm OS. With conventional real-time operating systems like QNX or VxWorks it shares the real-time ability and the support of different processor architectures.
etc.) to form a stable and reliable operating system. Originally, it was only supposed to serve as a basis for the different application programs developed by Foikis and Haunreiter during their studies. In 2000, Konrad Foikis and Michael Haunreiter founded the company Miray Software when they realised that µnOS was suited for far more than their own use. The cooperation with the TU Munich already evolved two years later. In 2006, the first official version of Symobi was completed, and in autumn of the same year it was introduced in professional circles on the Systems exhibition.
Multi-Core:
). Furthermore it is used in the areas of automotive (control and infotainment systems), industrial control systems (motion control, process control), and point of sale
(cashier systems, ticket machines, information terminals).
. In the area of standard appliances the operating system it not yet widely spread. It has only a rudimentary POSIX support and has restricted hardware support through drivers. In addition, Symobi is not an open source
operating system and at present does not offer office applications, email functions, or a web browser.
Real-time operating system
A real-time operating system is an operating system intended to serve real-time application requests.A key characteristic of a RTOS is the level of its consistency concerning the amount of time it takes to accept and complete an application's task; the variability is jitter...
. It was and is developed by the German company Miray Software, since 2002 partly in cooperation with the research team of Prof. Dr. Uwe Baumgarten at the Technical University of Munich
Technical University of Munich
The Technische Universität München is a research university with campuses in Munich, Garching, and Weihenstephan...
. The graphical operating system
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
is designed for the area of embedded
Embedded system
An embedded system is a computer system designed for specific control functions within a larger system. often with real-time computing constraints. It is embedded as part of a complete device often including hardware and mechanical parts. By contrast, a general-purpose computer, such as a personal...
and mobile systems. It is also often used on PCs for end users and in the field of industry.
Design
The basis of Symobi is the message-oriented operating system µnOS, which is on its part based on the real-time microkernelMicrokernel
In computer science, a microkernel is the near-minimum amount of software that can provide the mechanisms needed to implement an operating system . These mechanisms include low-level address space management, thread management, and inter-process communication...
Sphere. µnOS offers communication through message passing
Message passing
Message passing in computer science is a form of communication used in parallel computing, object-oriented programming, and interprocess communication. In this model, processes or objects can send and receive messages to other processes...
between all processes (from basic operating system service processes to application processes) using the integrated process manager. On the lowest level, the responsibility of the Sphere microkernel is to implement and enforce security mechanisms and resource management in real-time. Symobi itself additionally offers a complete graphical operating system environment with system services, a consistent graphical user interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
, as well as standard programs and drivers
Device driver
In computing, a device driver or software driver is a computer program allowing higher-level computer programs to interact with a hardware device....
.
Classification
Symobi combines features from different fields of application in one operating system. As a modern operating system it offers separated, isolated processes, light-weight threadsThreads
Threads is a British television drama produced by the BBC in 1984. Written by Barry Hines and directed by Mick Jackson, it is a documentary-style account of a nuclear war and its effects on the city of Sheffield in northern England....
, and dynamic libraries, like Windows, Linux, and Unix for example. In the area of mobile embedded operating systems, through its low resource requirement and the support of mobile devices it resembles systems like Windows CE, SymbianOS or Palm OS. With conventional real-time operating systems like QNX or VxWorks it shares the real-time ability and the support of different processor architectures.
History
The development of Sphere, µnOS and Symobi is based on the ideas and work of Konrad Foikis and Michael Haunreiter (founders of the company Miray Software), initiated during their schooldays, even before they started studying computer science. The basic concept was to combine useful and necessary features (like real-time and portability) with modern characteristics (like microkernel and inter-process communicationInter-process communication
In computing, Inter-process communication is a set of methods for the exchange of data among multiple threads in one or more processes. Processes may be running on one or more computers connected by a network. IPC methods are divided into methods for message passing, synchronization, shared...
etc.) to form a stable and reliable operating system. Originally, it was only supposed to serve as a basis for the different application programs developed by Foikis and Haunreiter during their studies. In 2000, Konrad Foikis and Michael Haunreiter founded the company Miray Software when they realised that µnOS was suited for far more than their own use. The cooperation with the TU Munich already evolved two years later. In 2006, the first official version of Symobi was completed, and in autumn of the same year it was introduced in professional circles on the Systems exhibition.
Support
Single-Core:- Intel: 80386, 80486, Pentium, Pentium Pro, Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium 4, Core Solo, Core 2 Solo
- AMD: Élan SC410, Élan SC520, K6, K6-2, K6-III, Duron, Sempron, Athlon, Opteron
- VIA: Cyrix Mark II, Cyrix III, C3, C7, Eden
- Rise: mP6
- Marvell / Intel: PXA-250, PXA-255, PXA-270, IXP-420
- Motorola / Freescale: G2, G3, G4
Multi-Core:
- Intel: Pentium 4, Core Duo, Core 2 Duo
- AMD: Athlon X2, Opteron
Application areas
Symobi is suited for hand-held products (portable communicators, internet appliances), as well as for consumer appliances (set-top boxes, home gateways, games, consolesVideo game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
). Furthermore it is used in the areas of automotive (control and infotainment systems), industrial control systems (motion control, process control), and point of sale
Point of sale
Point of sale or checkout is the location where a transaction occurs...
(cashier systems, ticket machines, information terminals).
Advantages and disadvantages
The operating system stands out through its real-time microkernel and its multi-processor ability. Furthermore, it is portable and therefore not bound to specific hardware platforms. Symobi's inter-process communication guarantees security and flexibility. It has a modern architecture and runs with only low resource requirements (processor, system memory). The system offers a Java-VMVirtual machine
A virtual machine is a "completely isolated guest operating system installation within a normal host operating system". Modern virtual machines are implemented with either software emulation or hardware virtualization or both together.-VM Definitions:A virtual machine is a software...
. In the area of standard appliances the operating system it not yet widely spread. It has only a rudimentary POSIX support and has restricted hardware support through drivers. In addition, Symobi is not an open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...
operating system and at present does not offer office applications, email functions, or a web browser.
External links
- Symobi
- Operating Systems at the Technical University of Munich
- Miray Software